New redistricting hurts Latino voters: My Word

Last week was indeed a sad episode for the citizens of Florida. My colleagues in the Legislature and I were in Tallahassee for a special session to redraw two Central Florida congressional districts that Circuit Court Judge Terry P. Lewis ruled were unconstitutional, the result of a "secret, organized campaign to subvert the supposedly open and transparent redistricting process."

After that scathing opinion, we had a real opportunity to craft a new, constitutional congressional map in a fair and bipartisan manner that upheld the will of Florida's voters. Instead, the leadership of the House and Senate dropped all pretense of transparency. The maps that passed were the product of an unrepentant culture of backroom dealings and closed-door meetings.

Revealing them on Thursday, voting them out of committee on Friday and waiving the rules to force a vote after only five hours on Monday, not a single one of my Republican colleagues rose to ask a question or debate the map. None of the "fiscal conservatives" who refuse to invest in vital community services rose to complain that the new map will force taxpayers in seven congressional districts — and nearly two dozen counties — to pay for a special election brought about solely because of their reprehensible and unconstitutional actions.

Of particular concern is the negative impact that this map has on the Hispanic/Latino community, which was the biggest loser under the new congressional plan. More than 368,000 people were moved into new districts, and District 9 lost 12,472 Hispanic/Latino voters. This is not acceptable. Be reminded that the congressional seats added to Florida after the 2010 census were in part attributed to the explosive growth in the Hispanic/Latino population.

This November, Hispanics/Latinos must hold the leadership of this state accountable, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they are aware of the pattern and practice of discrimination my colleagues use to discriminate against them.

This redistricting charade typifies what is wrong with Florida politics. Let us hope that on Wednesday, when Lewis takes another look at the process and politics that led to the new plan, he remembers the harm caused when, as George Washington said, "cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men … subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Victor M. Torres Jr. represents Florida House District 48 and is unopposed for re-election this year.